First on Sunday, May 31, 2020 from 1pm to 2pm slt we have the May & June Exhibition Opening of the Edge Gallery! This gallery hosts only black and white imagery and photography. The event will feature the following artists:

Join us on May 31 and June 1 for 3 artistic related events at Kultivate!

First on Sunday, May 31, 2020 from 1pm to 2pm slt we have the May & June Exhibition Opening of the Edge Gallery! This gallery hosts only black and white imagery and photography. The event will feature the following artists:

On Monday, June 1, 2020, we have two great events for you! First we have at 130 pm slt the exhibition opening of Elements by Tempest Rosca Huntsman & Johannes Huntsman. This is a 3D exhibition at UASL (United Artists of SL)! Casual dress code for this event and the slurl to the exhibition: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Karpov/73/55/2776*Please note that the actual opening event at UASL will take place on their party platform**

Later on Monday, from 4pm to 6pm slt we have the grand opening of Kultivate’s latest venture, The Mad Mare Pub & Dene Art Gallery! This art venue in a medieval setting, is located in Rosehaven and the first exhibition, Scenes from Rosehaven, features art work by Tempest Rosca Huntsman & Johannes Huntsman! The event will feature live performers Jesie Janick & Melenda Baptiste with a casual dress code! Slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rosehaven%20Absinthe/52/162/22

The May 2020 Issue of Kultivate Magazine is now published! This issue features artist and Kultivate 5th Annual Spring Art Show Best in Show Winner, Skye Joubert. The Dirty Pretty Sim, the HP Lovecraft themed Innsmouth Sim, and the Twins Exhibit at Carbone Gallery will be featured. The issue also contains articles on live performer Lark Bowen, the 15th Annual Raglanshire Artwalk, the Thermae region, and the forests of Bellissaria. We also debuting a new travel feature: Travels with Tempest! Click the issue cover below to view it:

Like this:

Join us this Sunday, at 1pm slt for the grand opening of the Art by Jamee Sandalwood exhibition.

Jamee Sandalwood is a professional photographer, artist, model, stylist and blogger in SL. She is a 2015 graduate of Visionaire Institute of Photography and since graduation has explored all areas of photography and art in Second Life. Jamee is known for her work with shadows and lighting and considers herself to be a shadow artist as of this time, though she continues to explore more areas of photography and art.

Jamee produces landscapes, abstract art, fashion photography, and professional invitation/graphic art for various projects around SL.

Jamee thanks you all for coming to enjoy the art show and hopes that you find peace and inspiration through her art. Thank you all for your support.

Like this:

Kultivate Magazine is seeking Fall/Autumn images for our September 2018 issue. If you would like to have your image published, continue reading:

Images have to be Fall/Autumn in nature. Your images can feature avatars enjoying Fall/Autumn activities.
The images must feature something that relates to the theme
All images must be moderate/mature/pg/g in rating. Adult images or nudity is not allowed
You are allowed to submit exactly ONE image
The image must be of your own intellectual property
All images must be submitted to our Flickr group: www.flickr.com/groups/kultivateartphotography
All images must be submitted by September 10, 2018 at 8 am slt

The March 2018 Issue of Kultivate Magazine is now available! This issue features The Butterfly Conservatory, an article on why you should use Flickr, spring art from various artists in Second Life, Bryn Oh’s new exhibition, the Bailey Norge’s sim, The Poet and the Prince of Denmark exhibition, the new Second Life mainland tier changes, a spring fashion photo essay by Jamee Sandalwood, and The Edge Stylists present their March fashions. Very special thank you to Veruca Tammas for the cover image! Click the cover below to read this month’s issue:

The January 2018 issue of Kultivate Magazine is now available! This issue features Winter Art from our great artists, the Fairhaven Sim, the 3 Artists at Gallery Cecile in Second Life exhibition, a photo essay on the R.A.H.M.E.N.L.O.S sim, the Ivy Fall sim, The Listening Room, Ach’s Garage in Sansar, Runway 101, and The Edge Stylists present Winter stylings. Very special thank you to Kodymeyers Resident for the cover image. Click the cover to view this month’s issue:

Are your Flickr images art? Are your social media photos and images art?

Recently, I asked a friend of mine to submit some of her Flickr images to an art exhibition in Second Life. To my surprise, she declined because she didn’t think her work was good enough, that it wasn’t art.

Her perspective is not an uncommon. Posting on Flickr, Facebook, Instagram or wherever is one thing, but declaring your work as art… Well, that’s quite another. Whether it’s insecurity, modesty, or you have a too high opinion of what art is, something stops you from declaring your work as art.

This isn’t a phenomena exclusive to the many photographers or graphic artists on the Web. It’s just as much an issue with anyone who hasn’t had their work formally anointed as art, and in some cases, even established artists.

Norman Rockwell throughout his life insisted, “I’m not a fine arts man, I’m an illustrator.” Just as with my friend’s work, some people disagree with Rockwell’s assessment.

So what makes something art? Does it have to be anointed by the amorphous art community? Does it have to be exhibited in a gallery? Do academics have to give it their snooty seal of art quality approval?

If you say it’s art, it’s art.

From the most mundane snapshot of your cat to the crassest closeup of your genitals, if you proclaim it’s art, it’s art. Who am I to argue?

Art history is filled with examples of artists who insisted their work was art before anyone was ready to accept it as art. It is not our place – no matter what we might think of your work – to tell you whether your work is not art.

Marcel Duchamp was trying to make exactly this point with The Fountain. In 1917, Duchamp anonymously submitted an upside down urinal entitled, The Fountain, as a work of art to the Society of Independent Artists, a society which Duchamp helped found.

[Image: fountain.png, Caption: Replica of the Fountain by Marcel Duchamp]

Duchamp did not reveal he was the creator and the urinal was presented to the board as being from new artist, R. Mutt. The urinal was rejected as art and never formally displayed. The only surviving photograph of it was taken by Alfred Stieglitz.

The Fountain would later be accepted as art and seen as one of the seminal pieces of 20th century art. Hurray for Duchamp.

There are two important things to take away from this story:

The Fountain was rejected and never exhibited.

It was submitted anonymously.

The original Fountain was lost and never exhibited. It never saw the formally saw the inside of an exhibit room of a gallery or museum (It might have been photographed by Stieglitz in his gallery, but it was never exhibited.).

Context does matter. Formally displaying a work in a gallery or museum does have an almost magical transmogrifying effect – what was once a simple painting of a soup can takes on a whole new meaning once it’s hanging in a prominent New York gallery.

If special people say it’s art, it must be art, right?

But this never happened with The Fountain. It never got a gallery show. Except for a few friends of Duchamp’s, who were probably in the know, it was rejected and relegated to the store room.

Duchamp was, of course, challenging the notion of what art is. In particular, by submitting The Fountain anonymously, he was avoiding having the work accepted simply because he had done it. He wanted the work, as challenging as it was, to be accepted as art not because the approval committee said it was art, but because the artist had said it was art.

So if you say it’s art, it’s art.

Duchamp would agree with you.

Note: If you want to learn more about The Fountain, read the Tate Museum article referenced below. The Wikipedia entry is a bit of a hash.

If I say it’s art, it’s art

But what if you don’t think your work is art?

Too bad. If I say it’s art, it’s art.

If I’m a gallery owner or a museum curator or an art critic, you might be more likely to accept my word on it. A knowledgeable opinion is a little more likely to sway yours. At the least, you’re probably more receptive to them.

But what if I’m nobody with no art background, but your work “feels” like art to me?

Maybe I just like the pretty colors in your photo or something about your work really connects with me. Maybe I think what you’ve presented as a casual snapshot of your dog sleeping has a deeper meaning.

Is my response and opinion valid?

Of course it is. And there’s more proof from art history.

In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg exhibited a series of canvases called the White Paintings. (Follow the link to see the white paintings.) The White Paintings are plain canvases painted entirely white. Rauschenberg intentionally wanted them to look as plain as possible.

Why?

Because he was making one of the most revolutionary points in art history: Every one of us brings our own experiences with us when we view a work, imbuing what we’re seeing with a meaning special to us. Whether its Michelangelo’s David or Rauschenberg’s blank, white paintings, that meaning is personal.

Every one of us, sees a work differently because we are all different.

If I see art in a plain, white canvas or in what you think is just another snapshot of your sleeping dog, then it’s art.

Duchamp once asked, “Can one make works which are not works of ‘art’?” I think he meant the question rhetorically.

Our lives are art. How you document that art is up to you, but what you post to social media and the work you post on Flickr is very much art.

Visit Team Diabetes of Second Life:

Get Social With Kultivate!

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,837 other followers

Disclaimer

Second Life®, Linden Lab®, Second Life Grid™, SL™, Linden™, SLurl™ and WindLight®, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement is intended. www.kultivatemagazine.com is not affiliated with or sponsored by Linden Research. This website contains 3rd party links. We are not responsible for the content or availability of 3rd party links. All images and content are the intellectual property of the respective owners, authors, and publishers.